Product Description

User Reviews

Overall Rating:

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Submitted by
Bryan McKinlay
a AudioPhile

Date Reviewed: November 2, 2015

Bottom Line:

I even bought a pair of A2's (the worst of the 3 A series) to get my hands on spare drivers just in case. I now drive the A3's with a Krell KSA-250 as my previous amp didn't do them justice. Looked at lots of speakers under 4k and haven't replaced them yet

i have had these speakers almost 20 years now. i have had almost every other speaker worth mentioning under 10k on my 2-channel side and these are still among the best speakers i have ever owned. they just don't do anything wrong. I think i read that they were under priced when they came out AND THEY ARE STILL BETTER THAT MOST $3K - $4K- speakers.

just wanted to add this....
i have had just about all the celestion speakers that are worth mentioning. sl600's ditton 44's 66's 551's A compacts A1's A3's celestion 100's 300's ditton 10's etc on and on.
just to clear some thing up here the clestion a3's are great period!! you guys keep going on about this amp that amp they need a good amp. well i have just a simple 70 wpc pioneer a9 amplifier and to my ears apart from ditton 66's the A3's are the best speakers i have owned.
i use them most days and never get tired of listening to them.
dont get me wrong guys, i am not moaning about you who have got money to spend on massive quallity amplifiers. i just think some times this puts perspective buyers off when they hear "needs a good amp" .all speakers benifit from a "good amp". all amps benifit from "good speakers". sorry to moan but i love celestions! just got a pair of ul10's awesome speakers!!

Con's - Siting is critical. Large/non box shaped room required. Very fussy about amplification. Because they are a 4 ohm design you need current and lots of it. They will be ruthless with anything that is not up to scratch.

Lets get one thing straight. Anybody that talks about bass rolling off at 50Hz has either not using powerful enough amplification or has sited them incorrectly. I can tell you these speakers produce bass to 25Hz easily - BUT siting and partnering equipment is absolutely critical. First, siting. Too close to any flat walls and the bass wipes out everything. Across any room (unless it is at least 4m) you can forget extended bass, it just doesn't happen. Bay windowed rooms (not square) are actually ideal - if you can site them so they sit within the vertical boundary of the bay window you can achieve a very good sound balance, but experimentation is vital. Second, amplification. Any amp that is not designed to drive into 4 ohms or less - and that is an awful lot of kit - is useless. Amps that lack ability to deliver current can't control the bass units of a 4 ohm design and any sense of detail or extension will be lost - and if fact will damage your speakers - usually the tweeters will overheat because of amp clipping issues. The absolute minimum I would consider for these speakers is 100WPC RMS into 8 ohms with the ability to pretty much double that into 4 - any less than a 75% increase of power into 4 ohms and the amp isn't designed with a 4 ohm load in mind. This may give you clues into what you need to do to get the best out of the A3's. If you don't pay attention to these two items particularly prepare to be disappointed.

With my current setup the bass is staggeringly powerful, extended and detailed. They reproduce dynamics and transients I simply haven't heard until the MF amp replaced my old NAD 2600. The NAD could go deep as NAD's deliver quite happily into 4 ohms, but it was not exactly detailed. The midrange is sweet, full and gives shape and timbre to instruments and vocals to a level that still surprises me to this day. And the top end...you can almost reach out and touch the cymbals of a drumkit they sound so real. The sheer ability to extract realism from good recordings is uncanny. But the real icing on the cake is how effortless they sound when you push them. Nothing changes - they just get louder. And with recordings with serious bass - such as Madonna's Ray Of Light - you will FEEL it too!

If you can find a pair of A3's and you can afford to give them the kit they deserve plus the space they need, you will be rewarded with a sound that is very hard to beat unless you are prepared to spend serious money. I am going to struggle to replace these when that time eventually comes. Homework is mandatory, investment in decent amplification is highly probable. But its worth every penny.

If you can find a pair second hand you will be in for a treat. Of all the speakers i have owned only a few come close to the A3's. In the right room with the right components these will really sing. All of the A series are great. I have the A1's and have had the A compacts, never had the chance to own a pair of A2's. I enjoy the sound of the speakers greatly.